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The unauthorized Knicks blog from Journal News beat writer Mike Dougherty

And here we are …

June
26

I’m all settled into my cubicle at the MSG Training Center waiting for something to happen, and my first pick of the evening was a can’t miss shrimp salad wrap.

The blog will be up and running until everybody is gone.

I’m going to keep updating this post, so just keep scrolling down to see the latest. Please chime in and help me keep the conversation going. There are no rumors with legs right now. It’s going to be hard for the Knicks to predict who’s coming off the board in front of them because Seattle and Memphis are both still looking to move down.

Update (7:12 p.m.): Do we really need Dick Vitale projecting who’s going to blossom in the NBA or indirectly blasting the league for letting kids in after one year of college. Yawn. He’s the guy who needs to stay in college.

Update (7:20): The fans have already spoken. Danilo Gallinari was shown waiting in the Green Room down at the WaMu Theater as ESPN was cutting away for a commercial and was soundly booed. I’m wondering if anybody in the draft bunker up here just said, ‘Never mind.’

Update (7:28): The latest ESPN report says Donnie Walsh expects to get the point guard he’s been looking for. Of course, that could be Westbrook, Bayless, Gordon or Augustin. They didn’t say who it’s going to be.

Update (7:32): Here we go, David Stern just got heckled by a bunch of grumpy muppets up in the cheap seats. It sounds like this is going to be a lot of fun.

Update (7:38): With the first pick, the Chicago Bulls just made Kirk Hinrich or Ben Gordon available. Don’t think much about it. Neither of those players is a good fit here contractually. Donnie Walsh probably wouldn’t last here if he contributed a couple more lottery picks to that rebuilding effort.

Update (7:43): Michael Beasley goes next. A lot of mock drafts are right on the money so far, but it’s going to become a bumpy ride in about 10 minutes.

Update (7:50): There goes O.J. Mayo, which has optimistic Knicks fans wincing in pain. Westbrook, Bayless or Gordon will be on the board when the clock starts for New York.

Update (7:55): Russell Westbrook just landed in Seattle, and I’m guessing a fair amount of popcorn was spilled in these parts. I’m not sure he was the kind of trigger Mike D’Antoni needs here. Love the defense, though.

Update (8:01): Cross off Kevin Love. Who do you want now? Gordon, Bayless or Gallinari? What are you going to do if D.J. Augustin comes across the stage next?

Update (8:07): Danilo Gallinari is getting booed off the stage.

Update (8:15): Next up, Eric Gordon. I assume Knicks fans are hoping Stern announces some kind of a trade before he goes public with another pick.

Update (8:23): Joe Alexander goes to Milwaukee, and I’m going to slow up with the blow-by-blow account. We just got done with a quick visit from Donnie Walsh, I’ll come back shortly with some of that.

Update (8:37): Walsh only had time for a couple of questions, he’s coming back later. It sounds like he and D’Antoni see Gallinari stepping in at power forward, which makes it even more important to move Zach Randolph before the summer’s out.

Here’s a couple of highlights:

“I think he’s got the kind of game that can bring people together and make people better,” Walsh said. “He’s obviously 19 years old, so you have to have some patience with it as I think you do with all of these players in the draft. We’re very happy to have this young man. I think he’s an unusual player.”

Walsh apparently was impressed with the way Gallinari shot the ball in workouts.

“I thought this was the guy we should take particularly because of the way he plays because it’s great to have a four-man that can handle the ball and shoot it from the outside because that will open up the floor,” Walsh said.

Update (9:00): I just some Gallinari quotes from Journal News colleague Alex Meyers, who’s down at the WaMu Theater. He says the fans really gave the 19-year-old the business on the way back to his interview. “It was 90 percent booing,” Meyers said. “Every once in a while somebody would give him a high-five.” And some of the language was colorful.

Here’s what Gallinari said about the boos:

“It’s a part of the game,” he said. “All the players have got to hear this. Not every time you can hear good things. So it’s normal here.”

Just ask Renaldo Balkman.

“I feel normal and comfortable with it,” Gallinari added. “I’ve got no problem. It’s my work to prove to everybody that I’m a good player, so that’s everything on me.”

Update (9:38): And now, a word from Mike D’Antoni, who swears he didn’t influence the pick.

“Hopefully, somebody will teach him how to play defense,” he said of Gallinari. “I do know he will be tough and he will play hard and he will be intelligent. That’s kind of how you build a team. We’re starting with him and we’ll go from there, but he’s a good talent.”

Update (10:48): Gallinari is projected to be a 6-11 power forward in the near future, and the Knicks would like to get him in the rotation ASAP. That means Walsh is going to have to move Zach Randolph and David Lee this summer. Jared Jeffries is also on notice. The Knicks are working to pick up a second-round pick, according to Walsh, and don’t be surprised if they go after Patrick Ewing Jr.

Update (11:21): So much for the second coming of Ewing, who used to come to practice with his dad and go head-to-head with Marcus Camby. I’ll pass this along from our guy Alex down at the WaMu. “Danilo Gallinari’s father stood in the lobby and fielded cell phone call after call by speaking a speedy Italian. I took the language in college and didn’t have a clue what he was saying. I’ll assume by his tone that he’s excited where his son ended up.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 5:41 pm by Mike Dougherty.
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8 Responses to “And here we are …”

  1. Not Hawthorne Wingo

    Mike, enjoy the shrimp salad and let’s hope that ain’t the highlight for the night.

  2. ET

    Mike, this is the night where Donnie is gonna have to show his true colors. Is he really gonna let the fans make the moves for him or will he make the right decisions that he was hired to make. I’m not saying that Gallinari is that right choice, I just hope that the fans reaction won’t be a major factor tonight.

  3. AlbanyKnick

    Please, don’t let it be Westbrook. Can’t shoot, can’t go to his left. Let Bayless be the guy who drives the engine. They’ll both be there after it goes Rose, Beasley, Mayo, Love, Lopez.

  4. fridayjones

    Looks like the Knicks will stand pat @ six. I wish there was a chance for Mayo to fall to them. Westbrook is a great defender, so he could contribute on that end of the floor right now.

    I’m just hoping that either Curry or Randolph is off this team by the start of next season. Randolph plays on only one end of the floor, and Curry doesn’t have the gas to run in D’Antoni’s offense.

    It’s a fun day, a day for optimism. At least we know that next season can only be an improvement. But this will more than likely be a bad team next year, no matter who gets chosen today.

  5. fridayjones

    With Westbrook off the board, I don’t really want Gordon or Bayless. We have Crawford/Marbury at this position already. This is too early for Augustin.

    I did hear rumblings about Kevin Love. Could that be their guy?

  6. fridayjones

    Gallinari or Augustin. I’m not sold on Augustin, but if they’re drafting for need, he’s the best true PG left in the draft.

  7. jojo

    I heard rumor of R. Felton for D. Lee
    What do you think of :
    D Lee
    Mardy Collins
    Renaldo
    for
    R. Felton.
    Would that be something agreeable?

    Also, with respect to Z-Bo, it seems as though Milwaukee is really looking to push into the playoffs. Could NYK strike a deal like this:
    Z-Bo
    for
    Gadzuric
    Desmond Mason
    C. Villanueva

  8. jojo

    those trades would improve our cap situation for 2010, free up room for Dino (and Curry) and get us the pg we need to replace Marbury

    just some food for thought

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It really doesn't matter whether the Knicks win or lose, there's never a shortage of headlines or debate. This is the place for the fans to look behind the scenes and join in the discussion as Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph work to develop chemistry.
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Mike DoughertyMike Dougherty Mike Dougherty has been with the Journal News since 1988, spending most of that time in high school gyms and Madison Square Garden. READ MORE

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